Something strange happened at the Oregon Pine Ridge Women’s Correctional Facility in early 2023. A woman in Cell 17, which is in Block C, a portion of the prison for high-risk offenders, went down suddenly while she was alone. The medical staff rushed in and were astonished to learn that the woman was 20 weeks pregnant.
But here’s the strange part: she had been by herself for almost a year. She didn’t talk to guys, go to see them, or talk to other prisoners. There were no signs that someone had broken into or interfered with her cell. People were all wondering the same thing: How could she be pregnant?
This amazing story started in a simple way on October 12, 2022. That night, the prison was quiet. The moon and stars were not up. The only sound was the buzzing of the lights and the troops walking around Block C. In Cell 17, Emily Ann Harper, 34, was serving a life sentence for selling cocaine. Since 2020, she had been completely alone, with no letters, calls, or visits. Three separate women guards took turns keeping an eye on her. Emily did what she was told, didn’t cause trouble, and didn’t say much. No one really knew what she was feeling or thinking.
Things were not the same that night. Emily couldn’t sleep. She sat against the wall and grabbed her stomach without saying anything. At 1:46 a.m., Officer Daniel James Carter saw her on the video camera. She got up, took a step, and then fell. She hit her head hard on the concrete bed and didn’t move.
The alarm went off. A reaction crew showed up within minutes and opened the several steel doors to get to her. Emily was out like a light. She had blood on her lips and her right hand on her stomach. Dr. Thomas Evans began examining her in the medical unit. He was doing an ultrasound to look for issues inside the body when he found something surprising: a healthy fetus that was about 20 weeks old.
Dr. Evans sent an important message to the persons in control of the institution. In the morning, Warden Robert Foster brought all the staff together and showed them the medical reports. Everyone was surprised. How might someone get pregnant while being watched and kept alone?
No one knew what to do.
An investigation took place within the company. A group of people looked at two months’ worth of video, talked to all the personnel, and checked the logs, meals, medical records, and every time someone went in or out of Cell 17. There were no errors. There were no hidden things, broken doors, or talking to guys. Emily’s cell was clean and safe.
That day, Emily got up. “I knew I was going to have a baby,” she said softly. I just want to have my baby. When asked if someone made her do it, she said no. When they asked her who the father was, she didn’t say anything. She said, “I was alone,” when they questioned her whether she did it alone.
A lot of people didn’t believe her. But there was no evidence that it wasn’t true.
There were whispers and murmurs all across the prison. Some thought she might have had help from outside, while others thought the system might have let her down. She got a new camera in her cell. Guards saw faint lines on the wall that stated, “I don’t want to live, but I want my child to live.” A towel has the words “Star of Hope” embroidered into one corner with red thread.
Emily stayed calm even though she didn’t know what was going on.
Who was Emily Harper?
Emily used to be a smart student and a teacher who was well-liked. When she was 8, she was already ahead in school. When she grew up, she became a teacher and a scientist. During the height of her success, she met a businessman from Portland who was seven years older than her. He would wait for her after class with flowers. They fell in love and got married immediately soon. Emily quit school and came to Salem with him.
Six months later, she found out that he was in debt because he was gambling. Emily sold her condo and did her best to aid the marriage. But he was gone one night. He left the country, leaving her to pay the expenses.
She made ends meet by working as a private tutor. One day, a friend paid her $3,000 to smuggle what she thought were legal plants across the border. She agreed because she was in a bad situation. She was arrested on December 28, 2019. They found a kilo of heroin hidden in her bag.
She didn’t have a lawyer or anyone else to help her during the trial. After just two sessions, she was given a life sentence on May 10, 2020.
She didn’t ask for a new trial.
She was transported to Block C, where she resided all by herself. She didn’t get any visitors or presents, and she only got to spend 18 minutes a day in a little yard. She used to be a smart student, but now she’s quiet and hard to find.
The investigation goes further.
Warden Foster put together a special panel of experts to look into the pregnancy after he found out about it. They checked everything, from the food trays to the video footage to the logs of the staff. But nevertheless, no one could say how the event transpired.
Officer Daniel Carter, who was the last person to see Emily before she passed out, was put on leave, but nothing strange was found. No one had ever opened her cell without her say-so. Everything went according to plan.
The issue remained: Where did this child come from?
Three months before she fell, Emily had asked for vitamins and supplements because she was feeling dizzy. This looked like a major thing now.
There was only one hint at the end. A 26-year-old male prisoner named James Michael Turner was allowed to undertake maintenance work in a technical area near the women’s block after the electricity went out in July. When he arrived there, it was about the time Emily would have gotten pregnant.
James used to go to medical school. He was knowledgeable and knew how to follow rules. He had been arrested after battling a man who was hurting his sister. He was judged guilty of assault, even though he was acting in self-defense. He was allowed to help with medical and electrical work in prison because he was good at it.
When queried in October, James replied he never talked to Emily. He said he spotted her silhouette from a distance. He told me he hadn’t talked to anyone.
People still began to have misgivings. While testing the ventilation system, something odd was detected. A new cover on one vent led to the discovery of a spool of nylon thread, a little plastic bag, and a used syringe.
The DNA test showed that the contents of the syringe were the same as James’s DNA.
James finally spoke up in a quiet room where he could be questioned. He didn’t try to make excuses; he told the truth.
He heard a cough while working late next to the vent. A message came through on a cigarette wrapper that said, “I would rather not live.” I only want people to see me. Over the next few days, more notes came. Then, one note said, “I wish I could be a mother before I die.”
James sent his sperm sample through the vent with a needle a few days later. Emily tried to become pregnant with it. No staff members were involved. Nobody else knew.
How the World Responds
When people found out the truth, they couldn’t say anything. “This child wanted to be born,” James stated. I’ve never let someone live. He didn’t explain why he did what he did; he only said it was the only thing that gave their lives meaning.
Emily never used her pregnancy to gain a shorter prison sentence. She didn’t ask for forgiveness or an appeal. “I want to have a baby,” she remarked. I’m not attempting to get out of my punishment. “There’s just one thing I want before I die.”
Deputy Warden Elizabeth Brooks, who was known for being strict, found a note Emily had written on a medicine wrapper that said, “I only hear footsteps.” But something inside of me is changing. It is small, yet it is alive. What lives never dies.
Brooks, who had lost her own baby years ago, felt something changing inside her. She brought the letter with her to a meeting with the staff. No one got in trouble. The team made a very unusual choice: Emily would be able to give birth safely.
Stella’s Hope
On May 3, 2023, while there was a storm, Emily went into labor. They took her to the prison’s medical unit because the roads were flooded. Emily had a healthy, calm baby girl who weighed 2,700 grams. She just had a military doctor and basic support. Stella Hope was the name Emily gave her infant child.
The state received a report. Because of medical and legal evidence and what Emily did, her life sentence was changed to probation.
The conditions got better, but she stayed in the building. She wrote in a small journal every day about Stella’s first smile, first step, and first word. Stella’s cry turned into a sound of life in a place where there was no sound.
James never got in touch with Emily again. He saw her holding Stella the day he got out. For a little while, their eyes met. She nodded her head. That was the end.
Life Goes On
When Stella turned three, Emily realized her daughter didn’t belong in jail. She arranged for Stella to stay with Aunt Mary, a nice woman who took in youngsters and lived in a quiet house with apple trees all around it.
Emily handed her daughter a picture and a notebook. The first page read, “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made.” I lived for you.
Emily is continuing writing even while she’s in prison.